CHOTO: Align reforms in telecom sector to global SDG agenda

Since the international community adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, there has been heightened interest in the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and in particular telecommunications, in driving this global agenda. This is due to the fact that ICT is not just about technology but is a cross-cutting factor in the development of any country.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global blueprint to end poverty, combat climate change and ensure prosperity, peace and equality for all. ICT spans the seventeen global development goals in the SDG framework. It has been cited as a potent force for accelerating human progress and addressing the challenges bedeviling humanity.

ICT is also crucial in bridging the digital divide so that no person, community or nation is left behind in the global war on poverty. In the digital era, ICT is a catalyst for sustainable development. To unlock this potential, technology and the SDG agenda should move in tandem. This is however a complex, multifaceted process. ICT and telecommunications are at the heart of each SDG. Opportunities to build synergy are limitless as the following examples reveal.

Access to digital financial services is key to lifting millions out of poverty (Goal 1). Mobile phones are now indispensable to reaching millions of unbanked people. Digital tools that boost agricultural productivity are essential to achieving zero hunger (Goal 2). Mobile apps are being used to link farmers to markets and provide critical information on weather. Technology can improve health and well-being (Goal 3). Online medical diagnostics and treatment are alleviating human suffering in remote areas. Mobile learning tools are promoting quality education for all (Goal 4) by breaking down the ‘learning divide’. By creating business and employment opportunities, ICT is reversing gender inequality by empowering women (Goal 7).

It is clear technology and more so telecommunications is integral to SDG implementation. An appropriate policy and regulatory framework is therefore required to achieve the desired impact in an increasingly digital world.

At the World Telecommunication Development Conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2017, the international community recognized the centrality of ICT and telecommunications services in achieving the global SDG agenda. Notably, the conference issued the Buenos Aires Declaration calling for universally accessible, secure and affordable ICT and telecommunications services.

The bigger goal for telecom reforms should be tying policy and legal changes to the global SDG agenda. This means instituting changes that not only seek to foster competition and innovation but also ensure telecommunications play an integral role in fighting poverty and revolutionizing education, health, agriculture, environment, governance and society as a whole.

Kenya is currently reforming its telecommunications regulatory framework to strengthen competition and innovation. This process, dating back to the 1990s with the liberalization of the industry, has recently acquired impetus thanks to rapid technological change and emergence of the digital economy.